Apparatus for making easy-opening can ends



United States Patent 72] Inventor Franklin C. Eickenhorst Mason, Ohio[21] Appl.No. 719,615

[22] Filed Apr. 8,1968

[45] Patented Dec. 29,1970

[73] Assignee Erma] C. Fraze Dayton, Ohio by mesne assignments [54]APPARATUS FOR MAKING EASY-OPENING CAN Primary Examiner-Charles W. LanhamAssistant Examiner-Michael J. Keenan Anorney-Smyth, Roston and PavittABSTRACT: This disclosure describes a machine which is ENDS particularlyadapted for converting can ends into easy-open 3 Claims, 6 Drawing Figscan ends. In the embodiment of the invention illustrated, the

machine includes a main dial plate which rotates intermit- [52] US. Cl113/1, [Emily to can)! can ends F by step through a series f work 1 13/11 13/121 stations at which work stations the can ends are converted into[51] Int. Cl B2ld easy open can ends The main dial pnate is rotatedintermib [50] Field ofSearch 13/1F, l1, temly by an intermitter which ispositioned entirely beneath 121A 121C 1200 83/423 278 the dial plate sothat the dial plate can be of minimum diameter and mass. Tabs for theeasy-opening can ends are made in [56] References cued a tab die whichis operated by the ram of the press of the UNITED STATES PATENTSmachine. The tabs are fed in a strip to a staking station where3,196,817 5/1970 Fraze 113/1 .1 thetabs are affixed to the can ends.

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frdmfia/l g 47 i 13 Pum:1$ l/o/ler 5 27v 1 lb fee/er 41 2 5 T I L l i II I Jn/ern/fir BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION As is well known, easy-opencontainers include a tab connected by a hollow rivet, which is formedintegrally with the can end, to a removable tear portion. By lifting orotherwise appropriately manipulating the tab, the tear portion issevered from the can end leaving an opening therein through which accessto the contents of the container may be had. The present inventionrelates to a machine for producing easyopening can ends and inparticular to a machine for converting can ends into easy-open can ends.

Numerous processes have been developed for fabricating easy-opening canends and the present invention is not restricted to use with any one ofthese processes, but rather has applicability to a large number of suchprocesses. A typical process for fabricating easy-opening can endsincludes the formation of a hollow rivet in the can end, which isintegral with the material of the can end itself, and then scoringaround the rivet to form a removable tear portion. Finally an aperturedtab is positioned over the rivet and the rivet is staked to secure thetab to the tear strip. Several useful methodshave been developed forformation of the integral rivet and for staking the rivet, and themachine of the present invention can be used to carry out any or all ofthe various methods.

Easy-opening can ends vary in size over a wide range which presentlyextends from 202's through 6IOs. Furthermore, easy-opening can ends havedifferent shapes such as circular, oval, pear-shaped, and the sardineend. In addition, the trend in the industries is to apply easy-openingcan ends to an everincreasing range of can sizes and configurations. Theuse of easy-opening can ends of various sizes and shapes has given riseto a very significant problem in the industry, namely, the conversion ofthe prior art easy-opening can end machines to accommodate such wideranges of sizes and shapes.

My copending application, Ser. No. 680,570, new Pat. No. 3,470,837,describes a machine which overcomes the problems of convertingeasy-opening can end machines to run can ends of widely varying sizesand shapes and the present in vention is an improvement on this machine.Although the machine described in my earlier application operates verysatisfactorily, it has been found desirable to increase the speed ofoperation thereof.

The machine described in the copending application includes a relativelylarge intermittently rotatable dial plate for advancing the can endsstep by step through a plurality of work stations. Suitable tooling islocated at each of work stations for converting the can ends carried bythe dial plate into easy-opening can end. The dial plate surrounds anintermitter which is necessary for imparting intermittent rotarymovement to the dial plate. Can end carrying means or nests arepositioned radially outwardly of the intermitte r. One difficulty withthis construction is that the dial plate must be of relatively largediameter and therefore relatively high mass so that the intermittentrotary speed thereof must be correspondingly low and this reduces therate at which easy-opening can ends can be produced.

In the machine described in the copending application, the tabs are madeon a separate tab making machine and manually transferred to theeasy-open can end machine. The tabs are fed individually to a stakingstation adjacent the dial plate at which station, the tabs are securedto the can ends. Although this system has some advantages, the use of aseparate tab making machine requires the presence of an additionaloperator and necessitates construction of a separate machine and themanual transporting of the tabs between the machines. In addition,feeding of the tabs individually to the staking station increases thepossiblity of malfunction of the machine due to the relatively thinsheet metal tabs becoming cocked or jammed in the tab feeding apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present inventionsignificantly increasesthe speed of operation of easy-open can end machines without sacrificingany of the significant advantages of the machine described in thecopending application. The present invention teaches that the large sizeof dial plate was necessitated by the fact that, heretofore the dialplat'e surrounded the intermitter. The present invention teaches thatthe diameter of the dial plate can be reduced if the intermitter ispositioned beneath the dial plate so that the dial plate need notsurround the intermitter. A suitable drive shaft interconnects theintermitter and the dial plate so that the intermitter can impartintermittent rotary motion to the dial plate. With this construction,the nest or can end holding means can be moved radially inwardly closerto the axis of rotation and the diameter and mass of the dial plate iscorrespondingly reduced. By reducing the mass of the dial plate, theintermittent rotary speed thereof can be correspondingly increased tothereby increase the number of easy-opening can ends which can beproduced in a given time interval.

With the present invention the speed and efficiency of operation arefurther increased in that the tabs are made on the can end machine, andtherefore, the need for sa separate tab making machine, an operator forthe tab making machine, and for manual transfer of the tabs between thetwo machines is eliminated. The present invention teaches that the tabscan advantageously be made in a tab die which is a part of theeasy-opening can end making machine and which is directly driven by theram of the press of the. can end machine. Another advantage of thisconstruction is that the tabs can be made in a strip in which each ofthe individual tabs are integrally joined to the strip of sheet materialby one or more narrow webs of the sheet material. The tabs are then fedin the strip to the staking station adjacent the main dial plate. At thestaking station, the tabs are automatically cut from the strip anddirectly and precisely positioned on the can end. As the tabs arestrip-fed to the staking station, they are held captive so that cockingthereof and consequent jamming or malfunction of the machine due to tabmisalignment is eliminated. In addition, the tabs can be automaticallyfed from the tab die to the staking station with a relatively simple tabfeed mechanism which can advantageously be powered by the motor of thecan end machine.

Another significant advantage of the present invention is that all ofthe above-noted advantages are obtained without sacrificing any of theadvantages of the prior art machine. Thus, a device constructed inaccordance with the teachings of this invention requires only a singledial plate, can be easily converted to run can ends of widely varyingsizes and shapes and generally possesses'all of the desirable featuresof my earlier machine.

The invention, both as to its organization and method of operationtogether with further features and advantages thereof may best beunderstood by reference to the following description taken in connectionwith the accompanying illustrative drawing.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front-elevational view ofa can end making machine constructed in accordance with the teachings ofthis invention with several of the components of the machine beingillustrated diagrammatically.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view partially in section taken along line 2-2 ofFIG. 1 and illustrating the dial plate, the tab feeder and the tab die.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view through a preferred form of tab die.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a preferred form of tab feedmechanism and portions of the staking station.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary rear elevational view taken along line 5-5 ofFIG. 4 and illustrating a portion of the tab feed mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken through the staking station.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to the drawings and inparticular to FIG. 1 thereof, reference numeral 11 designates a machinefor converting can ends into easy-opening can ends. Generally, themachine 11 includes a frame 13 supporting a motor 15 for driving a dialplate 17 through an intermitter 19. The intermitter 19 causes the dialplate 17 to rotate intermittently through a plurality of work stationsdesignated I-XII (FIG. 2) including a staking station VII. Suitabletooling 21 is positioned at selected ones of the work stations forperforming work operations on can ends moved thereto by the dial plate17.

The machine 11 also includes a tab die 23 and a tab feeder or feedmechanism 25 for feeding the tabs from the tab die to the stakingstation. The tabs are attached to can ends by the tooling located atstation VII and illustrated in FIG. 6.

More particularly, the machine 11 includes upright frame members 27which support a press bed 29 and a main die shoe 31. The dial plate 17is mounted for rotation in a horizontal plane about a vertical axis by adrive shaft 33 which is suitably mounted for rotation on the bed 29 bybearings 35.

The motor 15 drives the dial plate 17 through a shaft 37, a reducer 39,a shaft 41, gear box 43, a shaft 45, a gear box 46, and intermitter l9and the drive shaft 33. An important feature is that the intermitter 19is positioned entirely beneath the dial plate 17 and is drivinglyconnected thereto by the shaft 33. Thus, the dial plate 17 need not beenlarged radially to accommodate or to surround the intermitter 19.Rather, the dial plate 17 is firmly and strongly supported by a supportbracket which includes radially extending webs 47 and acircumferentially extending flange 49.

The intermitter 19 may be of conventional design and impartsintermittent rotary motion to the dial plate 17. This causes the dialplate 17 to rotate step by step through each of the work stations I-XII(FIG. 2). Various kinds of work operations may be performed at theseveral work stations as shown by the legend adjacent FIG. 2.

The dial 17 is preferably circular in plan and includes 12 nests 51(FIG. 2) each of which is adapted to retain a can end. Each of the nests51 may be of conventional structure and adapted to hold the can end withthe outer face or public side thereof facing downwardly. The nest may beof the type shown in my copending application identified above with theparts thereof appropriately reversed to retain the can end in a facedownposition. In the embodiment illustrated, l2 of the nests 51 areprovided, one for each of the stations I-XII. The intermitter 19intermittently rotates the dial plate 17 to stop each of the nest 51sequentially at each of the stations I-XII.

Various tooling is positioned at least at some of the stations I-XII toperform various work operations on the can ends. For example, in theembodiment illustrated and according to the legend shown adjacent FIG.2, a suitable can end loading mechanism, which may be of the typeillustrated in the copending patent application referred to above, isprovided to individually load single can ends into each of the nests 51at station [I as such nest is brought to station II. Stations III, VIIIand XI are idle stations at which no work operations are performed onthe can ends at such stations. These stations are provided so thatadditional work operations may be added, if desired.

Tooling such as the tooling 21 (FIG. 1) is located at station IV andforms a bubble in the can end and at station V the bubble is convertedinto a button or hollow rivet by suitable tooling. The can end is scoredat station VI and at station VII a tab is applied to the can end and therivet is staked to clamp the tab to the can end. A panel is formed inthe can end at station IX and at station X suitable detecting equipmentis located for the purpose of detecting the presence or absence of a tabon the can end. At station XII, can ends not having tabs thereon areautomatically rejected by suitable automatic equipment and at station Ian unloading apparatus such as the unloading apparatus shown in mycopending application is provided to remove the completed easy-openingcan end from the dial plate 17.

The machine 11 includes a ram 53 mounted for vertical reciprocatingmovement. The ram 53 is driven by a motor 15 and includes a punch holder55 (FIG. 1) to which some of the tooling is mounted. Other of thetooling 21 is suitably conventionally mounted on the die shoe 31.

A portion of the tab die 23 is shown in FIG. 3. Basically, the tab die23 includes a series of punches and dies with FIG. 3 illustrating only apunch 57 attached to the punch holder 55 and a die 59 attached to thedie shoe 31. A thin strip 61 of sheet metal tab stock is advanced bysuitable means in step by step fashion to the various punches and dieswhich perform work operations thereon to produce a tab 63 (FIG. 4) whichmay be of the configuration shown in FIG. 4 or any other desired tabform. Although the tab 63 may be formed in a single hit, therebynecessitating'only a single punch and die, in the usual instance,several punches and dies are required for carrying out the several workoperations necessary for forming of the tab. Movement of the punch 57relative to the die 59 is guided by a guide pin 65 which rides in aguide sleeve 67.

The tab feed mechanism 25 receives its power from the gear box 46,another gear box 69 and an intermitter 71 (FIG. 1). As shown in FIGS. 4and 5, the tab feed mechanism 25 and the intermitter 71 are mounted on aplatform 73 which is suitably mounted on the bed 29 of the press. Thetab feed mechanism 25 includes a drive shaft 75 which is driven by theintermitter 71 and an indexing wheel 77 mounted on the drive shaft 75 bya pin 78 and retained between a nut 79 and a collar 81 mounted on thedrive shaft 75. The drive shaft 75 is suitably supported by bearings 83.

The indexing wheel 77 includes a wheel member 85 having two rows ofindexing pins 87 mounted thereon and projecting radially outwardly ofthe wheel member 85 to expose an end portion of the pins. As shown inFIG. 5, the pins 87 of each row are spaced circumferentially an equalamount around the wheel member 85 and as shown in FIG. 4, the pins ofone row are spaced axially along the shaft 75 from the pins of theadjacent row.

The tab die 23 forms the tab 63 in the strip 61 with the tab 63 beingintegrally joined to the strip 61 by narrow webs 89. The strip 61 isalso formed with two parallel rows of spaced apertures 91.

In operation of the tab feed mechanism 25, the intermitter 71 impartsintermittent rotary motion to the indexing wheel 77. The holes 91 arepositioned so as to receive the indexing pins 87 to permit the indexingpins to drive the strip 61 containing the tabs 63 linearly toward thestaking station VII. The movement of the strip 61 is intermittent andsuitably timed with the intermittent movement of the dial plate 17 andwith the apparatus of the staking station VII so that one tab 63 issupplied to the staking station for each can end that is brought by thedial plate 17 to the staking station.

For the purpose of cutting the tabs 63 from the strip 61, placing thetabs on a can end, and attaching the tab to the can end, the tooling 93may be employed (FIG. 6). A nest 51 shown diagrammatically in FIG. 6supports a can end 95 in the main dial plate 17 at the staking station,with the public side of the can end facing downwardly. The can end 95has a rivet 97 formed integrally therewith and projecting downwardly.

As best shown in FIG. 4, each of the tabs 63 is a ring tab having arivet receiving aperture 99 therein for receiving the rivet 97. Thefunction of the tooling 93 is to sever the tab 63 from the strip 61 bycutting the webs 89, moving the tab upwardly to the can end as shown inFIG. 6 and positioning the tab with the rivet 97 projecting through theaperture 99. The tooling 93 then stakes the rivet 97 to clamp the tab 63to the can end 95.

The tooling 93 includes a die set 101 suitably affixed to the ram 53 atstation VII. A punch supporting block 103 is mounted for verticalmovement between a spacer 105 and a retainer 107 and is biaseddownwardly by a spring 109. The retainer 107 is suitably connected tothe member thereabove by bolts 111. The die set 101 has a stake punch113 which extends completely therethrough and is adapted to engage thecan end 95. The stake punch 113 preferably has a protrusion or anvil(not shown) which is adapted to fit within the hollow rivet 97 tosupport the walls thereof in conventional fashion during the stakingoperation. A lower member 115 is suitably affixed to the support block103 and is also adapted to engage the can end 95.

The tooling 93 also includes a support block 117 mounted on the die shoe31. A platform 119 is supported on legs 121 which are suitably affixedto the support block 117. Upper and lower tab strip guide members 123and 125 are suitably mounted on the platform 19 for the purpose ofguiding the strip 61 and the tabs 63 therein through the tooling 93.

A cam plunger 127 is mounted for vertical reciprocatory movement by abearing block 129 which is retained on a spacer 131 by a retaining ring133 which is affixed to the sup port block 117 by bolts 135. The camplunger 127 is reciprocated by a conventional cam unit 137 which isdriven by the intermitter 19 and a gear box 139 (FIG. 1). The upwardmovement of the cam plunger 127 is timed to occur after the tab feedmechanism has positioned a tab 63 immediately thereabove.

Mounted at the upper end of the cam plunger 127 is a tool holder 141having a lower stake punch 143 mounted therein and a plunger 145. Theupper end of the tool holder 141 is shaped to fit within the ring of thetab 63 to thereby permit the tool holder 141 to retain and position thetab 63 on the can end 95.

In operation of the tooling 93, the cam unit 137 forces the cam plunger127 and the tool holder 141 upwardly at the proper instant so that itengages a tab 63 immediately thereabove. The tool holder 141 nips thetab 63 from the strip 61 by severing the webs 89 and lifts the tabupwardly to position it against the can end 95 with the rivet 97projecting through the aperture 99 of the tab. During the same time, theram 53 is moving downwardly to cause the stake punch 113 and the member115 to engage the can end 95 and form a rigid support therefor. Theupward movement of the tool holder 141 is sufficient to permit the stakepunch 143 to move upwardly a sufficient distance to stake the rivet 97to clamp the tab 63 to the can end 95. The ram 53 and the cam plunger127 then retract and the dial plate 17 is indexed toward the nextposition, while the strip 61 of the tabs is moved by the tab feedmechanism 25 to bring a new tab 63 over the cam plunger 127. The can end95 which has just had the tab 63 placed thereon then moves sequentiallythrough stations VIII I and at this latter station is automaticallyunloaded from the dial plate 17.

Although exemplary embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed, many changes, modifications and substitutions may be made byone having ordinary skill in the art without necessarily departing fromthe spirit and scope of this invention.

lclaim:

1. In a machine for converting can ends into easy-opening can ends, thecombination of:

a supporting structure;

a single rotatable dial plate mounted for rotary movement on saidsupporting structure about a generally vertical axis, said dial platehaving a plurality of spaced can end receiving areas thereon;

means at each of said can end receiving areas for supporting a can end;

a plurality of work stations located around said dial plate including aload station, an unload station and a staking station;

intermitter means located entirely beneath said rotatable dial plate forimparting intermittent rotary motion to said dial plate about said axiswith said dial plate stopping intermittently with said can end receivingareas at said stations, respectively;

means at said load station for automatically sequentially supplying asingle can end to each of said can end receiving areas as such can endreceiving area stops at said load station; a ram positioned above saidrotatable dial plate and movable generally vertically toward and awayfrom said rotatable dial plate;

a motor for driving said ram;

tooling means driven by said ram at one of said work stations forforming a hollow rivet in each of the can ends moved therethrough bysaid dial plate;

a tab die mounted on said supporting structure and driven by said ramfor forming tabs of the type usable on easyopening container with eachof the tabs being joined to a connecting strip and having a connectingaperture therein;

tab feed means for sequentially feeding the tab and the strip to thestaking station with each talb sequentially entering said stakingstation;

means at said staking station driven by said motor for cutting the tabat the staking station from the strip and positioning it on the can endwith the rivet projecting through the aperture in the tab, said lastmentioned means including means for staking the rivet to clamp the tabto the can end; and

means at said unload station for removing the can ends having tabsaffixed thereto from the rotatable dial plate.

2. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein said tab feed means isdriven by said motor means.

3. A combination as defined in claim 1 wherein the connecting strip hasapertures therein and said tab feed means includes a rotatable indexingwheel having radial projections drivingly receivable in the apertures ofthe strip to move the strip and means for imparting intermittent rotarymotion to the indexing wheel.

